Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has revealed that the worst advice she has ever received was from people who said she needed to change her name.
The Never Have I Ever star, 21, said those who gave her the advice said “no one’s going to remember a name so long”.
But she pushed back and declared: “I’m like, f*** you, no thanks.”
Speaking to The Cut, the Canadian actor continued: “I f***ing love my name. Maitreyi is a kick-a** name. And Ramakrishnan is all I’ve known – with Tamil people, the dad’s first name is the kid’s last name.
“I don’t care about that, but I care that I share the name with my brother.”
Ramakrishnan also divulged another piece of bad advice she has received in the past, regarding doing nudity in order to “become a bigger star and take on doing bigger roles”.
She said: “I think that’s f***ed up. To each their own, but it’s something I never want to be forced to do: ‘If you want to be successful and continue to do your craft, you must show your titties’.”
In the Netflix hit series, directed by Mindy Kaling, Ramakrishnan plays the role of Devi Vishwakumar, a high schooler who is dealing with the grief of losing her father and the excitement of dating.
Last year, in an interview with The Independent’s Tom Murray, Ramakrishnan expressed how happy she was to see South Asian actors take up lead roles in series like Never Have I Ever and Bridgerton’s second season.
“I could give a general statement like how I wish I had a show like this when I was younger… but it’s been really awesome to see a South Asian character be the love interest, specifically,” she said.
The fourth and final series of Never Have I Ever began streaming this month on Netflix.
